Every parent's worst nightmare: Mum relives the terrifying moment a stranger snatched her girl, 2, as she rode her bike to childcare in daylight ambush that's left her scared to sleep
- Man tried to snatch a two-year-old girl who was out for a bike ride with her mum
- Girl was on Weeks Avenue, Harkness, far-west Melbourne at 9.20am on Tuesday
- The toddler was behind her mother, who turned around to see a man holding her
- Youngster has a cut to her hand and still has soreness in her arm after incident
- Mother Rebekah said her daughter struggled to get to sleep on Tuesday night
- 'She was scared the man was going to come and get her again,' the mother said
A young mother has spoken of the terrifying moment a stranger snatched her two-year-old daughter and tried to pull her away while she was riding her tricycle to childcare.
Rebekah, 32, was cycling with her daughter Keirah, 2, and Brodie, 5, in Harkness in Melbourne's far-west at 9.20am on Tuesday when she saw a man grab her youngest child - who had been riding behind her family.
The would-be abductor only let go of Keirah and ran off towards a nearby primary school when Rebekah chased him down suburban Weeks Avenue on her bicycle.
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A young west Melbourne mother was forced to chase off a man who grabbed her daughter as the young girl cycled to childcare on Tuesday morning
Rebekah, 32, pictured after the scary incident with her daughter Keirah, two, who was left with a cut to her hand and soreness in her arm
'My son wanted to race me so I sped off with him. Keirah wasn't far behind me - but when I stopped and turned around I saw there was this man grabbing my daughter and spinning her around,' she told Daily Mail Australia.
The mother said she and her children had never felt like they were in danger in their neighbourhood until Tuesday.
CCTV footage showed the man - who is described as being of African appearance, in his early 20s, wearing dark clothes and a white baseball cap but no mask - stood beside the child before bending down to her height.
Keirah suffered a small cut to her right hand when the man grabbed her and is still suffering from soreness on one of her arms.
Seconds before the offender grabbed the young girl, he had calmly walked past her mother and her brother - raising no alarm bells for Rebekah who thought he was just a normal pedestrian.
Rebekah said the youngster bravely went to childcare despite what happened, but struggled to sleep on Tuesday night.
Keirah's mother said she struggled to get to sleep that night as she was scared the man was going to come back and grab her
Keirah is enjoying the media attention the attempted snatching has attracted and her mother said the family were undeterred in cycling to childcare in the future
'She was scared the man was going to come and get her again so her dad had to lie with her to get her to go to sleep,' Rebekah said.
Pictured: The cut Keirah suffered to her right hand when the man grabbed her
'When we got to a spot today near where the man grabbed her she was hesitant and I had to tell her she was safe to keep going.'
Despite the scary incident, Rebekah said Keirah was enjoying the media attention the attempted snatching has attracted.
'She loves it. This morning she had the news microphone and was singing into it,' the mum said.
'My kids love riding their bikes and I'm not going to let one person ruin their childhood.'
Victoria Police said on Wednesday they were increasing patrols in the Harkness area and are treating the incident as 'extremely serious'.
The family were riding their bikes along Weeks Avenue, Harkness, outer-west Melbourne , at 9.20am on Tuesday
CCTV footage showed the man stood beside the child before bending to her height (google street view, pictured)
'It's a traumatic situation for anyone to undergo,' Detective Acting Senior Sergeant David Leveridge told reporters.
'Until we speak to the person concerned we have to treat it as extremely serious.'
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMihAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5kYWlseW1haWwuY28udWsvbmV3cy9hcnRpY2xlLTg3ODg5MTEvV2VzdC1NZWxib3VybmUtbW90aGVyLW9wZW5zLW1vbWVudC1zdHJhbmdlci10cmllZC1zbmF0Y2gtdHdvLXllYXItb2xkLWRhdWdodGVyLmh0bWzSAYgBaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGFpbHltYWlsLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvYXJ0aWNsZS04Nzg4OTExL2FtcC9XZXN0LU1lbGJvdXJuZS1tb3RoZXItb3BlbnMtbW9tZW50LXN0cmFuZ2VyLXRyaWVkLXNuYXRjaC10d28teWVhci1vbGQtZGF1Z2h0ZXIuaHRtbA?oc=5
2020-09-30 11:00:28Z
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